


The Way You Talk, You Make Me Smile

by hazandboo_write



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Stuttering, shy!harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-15 00:55:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazandboo_write/pseuds/hazandboo_write
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Louis’s sort of friendly and happy and doing ok, and Harry’s sort of painfully shy and quite.  They meet at the library.  Written by haz.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way You Talk, You Make Me Smile

the whole entire library was full. that did not please louis in the slightest. he banged noisily into tables and ignored disturbed glares as he made his way to the back. he found his favourite shelf, fingering the spines of the books in front of him. at the end of the aisle there was a tall, curly-headed boy. he stood with his skinny ankles crossed, and he sported tight black skinny jeans and a thin tan sweater, much too big for him. the boy was muttering quietly under his breath. naturally, louis’ curiosity won the best of him, and he wandered over to the boy just as he was pulling a book off of the shelf. louis looked down at his own book, smiling.

“have you read it already? i mean it’s a classic. a bloody fantastic one at that.” louis smiled at the boy, who was now looking up at him.

the boy’s big green eyes went wide, and he stumbled backwards a bit, nearly loosing footing.

louis reached out and caught the boy’s elbow in his palm. “y’alright there? i didn’t mean to scare you, love.”

the boy looked down at louis’s hand, watching as louis returned it to his side. he didn’t look up at louis.

“‘m louis, by the way.” louis didn’t exactly know why he was still talking. the guy obviously wasn’t the most talkative of sorts. but you see, louis was quite good at reading people. and this kid didn’t seem all that rude as much as just shy. maybe he’s deaf, louis wondered.

after a moment, the boy noticed the book in louis’ hand before glancing back down at the same one in his own hands. almost imperceptibly, the boy muttered, “i’m harry.”

louis smiled at the boy’s voice. low and rumbling. “nice to meet you,” he said with a grin. he didn’t mean to be too enthusiastic, but louis sort of had a thing for breaking through to people, even if just on the surface. after all, he was studying to be a speech therapist. his inspiration had come from his kid sister charlotte, who struggled from a rather severe speech impediment as a kid. point is, louis like people, he really did.

back in the present, the boy, harry, was busying himself with the hem of his top. “i should go check this out,” louis said, shaking the book he was holding. “seeing as how it’s my fourth time reading the damn thing, I should probably just buy a copy of my own,” louis joked.

harry shook his curly hair out. “yeah, i’ll, uh, s-see you around, uhm, louis?”

louis smiled encouragingly back at the boy, trying not to creep the boy out. “yeah, yeah, see you around harry.” when louis walked away, he was smiling. 

 

“what the actual hell you smilin’ about?” niall grumbled, rubbing his entire face messily with the back of his hand.

louis wordlessly held up his book. “it’s baaaaack,” he sang in the creepiest voice he could muster.

niall rolled his eyes. “i’ve bought you that book about six times throughout the years, and yet you still insist on renting the damn thing!”

louis walked past where niall was lounging on the couch, towards their tiny kitchen to make a brew.

“and anyways, i sure as hell know that face. and as much as you love that dear fucking book, i also happen to know that face is an i-met-someone face,” niall hollered from his spot in front of the tv.

“where’s li?” louis called back.

“oi, don’t avoid the question, lover boy.”

louis snorted. “sorry bud, but alas i’m still single and dateless.” louis made his way back to the couch, curling up against niall with a cuppa and a half-eaten muffin wrapped up in a paper towel.

niall harrumphed, but enveloped louis in his arms just the same. “yeah, yeah. sure. boy or girl?”

louis laughed. “i barely even know the guy! he barely even spoke two words to me.”

niall raised his eyebrows. “since when do you go for guys without a personality?” he smirked.

this time it was louis who harrumphed. “he was looking at checking out the catcher and the rye, nialler.”

niall ohhhhhed, nodding. “yes, that makes more sense. so basically you’re in love, is what you’re tellin’ me.”

louis elbowed his friend right between the ribs. “shove it, horan. he was cute.”

 

“erm, hi. s-sorry, i was just… could i maybe?” louis turned around, a bit startled.

“harry,” louis breathed. it’d only been four days, but somehow the boy had seemingly managed to grow taller. louis budged to the side as harry ran the backs of his fingers along the shelf in front of them. he stood with his head down, cheeks a light pink.

“you know, i could make a suggestion, if you’d like. i mean, well, if you’re looking for a good read,” louis said softly, watching harry’s creased brow.

harry looked up, a bit startled. “i- yeah, yeah okay. th-thanks.” harry just barely nodded, backing away. louis smiled a bit at him, tugging a book out of his bag. 

“it’s by the same author,” he said, passing over his copy.

harry frowned. “i, uhm, do you, l-like, know where i could find this, though?”

louis scoffed a bit dramatically. “oh no, just take that one! well-loved books are the best sort of books.”

harry’s frowned deepend. “i couldn’t-”

louis put his hand on harry’s. the taller boy only flinched back a little bit. louis nodded towards an empty table at the end of the aisle. “you’ll return it when you can, i’m sure. i was just gonna sit down and get a bit of studying in. you could join me if you’d like?”

harry was watching louis with wide, almost suspicious eyes. he brushed back some unruly curls, rubbing a hand across his flaming cheeks. “i… ehm, maybe for just a bit, yeah. uhm, it’s l-louis, yeah?”

louis smiled wide at this. “yep,” he chirped, skipping over to a table. louis watched as harry walked towards him. the boy’s stride was slow, nervous, and the poor guy almost tripped over his own feet with every step he took. strange considering it was his feet he was staring at. louis closed his eyes briefly. what was he doing? the kid obviously wanted to be left alone, why couldn’t louis just leave it alone?

“d-do you always in-invite strange boys to come study w-with you, louis?” harry asked quietly, lowering himself down into a seat opposite harry. louis blinked, startled at the small smirk on harry’s face. louis took out one of his texts, ready to highlight anything and everything remotely applicable with his dandy pink pen. harry was still grasping the book louis had given him. slowly, the boy placed the book on the tabled and shrugged off his bag, letting it fall to the floor.

louis tried to study silently, but after about five minutes he realized he was spending more time staring at the boy in front of him then at the words on the pages before him. he glanced up at the curly-haired boy from beneath his glasses about every thirty seconds. harry was a fast reader, louis noted.

“you-you’re s-staring at me,” harry said, eyes still glued to the book in his hands. louis coughed a bit, shrugging. if harry could see louis’ gaze in his peripheral, he could also see louis shrugging. louis turned back to his work.

it only took an hour and fifteen minutes before louis was slamming his pen down noisily, letting out an annoyed humph. “no fucking more, i can’t take it. my tummy’s growling too loud for me to focus on this shit,” he muttered to himself. looking up, he was shocked to see harry was still there.

harry had jumped a bit at louis’ outburst but hadn’t lost his place in his reading. the boy was incredible. he had made a very sizable dent in the book, much larger than louis could have in the time given. louis looked away for a moment, embarrassed. why, he wasn’t sure. he just was. “food. thats what i need, i need food.”

harry sniffled a bit, reaching up to tug at one of his curls. “i- uhm, you should probably get some, then?”

louis nodded firmly. “yes, yes i should. how do you like it?” he asked, motioning at the text in harry’s hands.

harry smiled a tiny bit. “it’s good, yeah. r-really good.”

seeing harry smile made louis beam a bit brighter than necessary. “told you,” he said, shrugging. he got to his feet almost grudgingly, collecting his things and throwing them in his book-bag hastily. louis was used to being friendly, and handed out invitations almost too frequently to be safe, and so he didn’t hesitate in inviting harry to come along.

harry’s eyes were wide again. maybe they were just always wide, perpetually surprised, louis wondered. “i, uhm, n-no, no that’s okay. i think i’m just g-gonna head back to my dorm anyways. g-got to get some s-studying in myself to be honest.” harry was fiddling with a yarn bracelet on his left wrist, rather than looking at louis.

louis couldn’t help but frown a bit. “i’ll see you around then, harry,” he said softly, wishing harry would look up. harry nodded gently, still gripping his book, louis’s book, in one hand. louis had no choice but to walk away. when he turned back though, harry was biting his bottom lip and staring right back at him.

 

this time, niall threw his hands up in the air when louis entered the apartment whistling. “for craic’s sake, you’re fucking happy again.”

louis mock-frowned, letting his coat fall to the ground and kicking off his shoes lazily. he made his way over to the couch, sitting up against the armrest and resting his feet in liam’s lap. “hey, baby,” he said, smiling cheekily. “and who’s that?” he asked, pointing at the boy splayed out on the other sofa.

the boy was rail thin, with choppy black hair and big brown eyes, almost black. “‘m zayn. malik,” he said lazily. “nice to meet you.”

louis smiled brightly at the stranger. “welcome to our home, zayn malik. nice to meet you too, bud.” liam laughed, shoving louis’ feet away. 

“don’t scare him off now,” liam joked, walking over to the guy, zayn, and sitting strategically on the armrest of zayn’s chair.

louis raised his eyebrows. “oh, i get it now,” he said, grinning. he looked between the two boys, who were sending each other not-so-subtle heart eyes. louis laughed softly. “wicked. it’s about time.” zayn looked up, grinning back at louis. liam only pouted a bit, clearly embarrassed.

niall padded into the living room in sweatpants and tank top that was definitely louis’. louis sifhed dramatically. “for god’s sake, niall! i haven’t washed that thing in weeks. do you insist upon basing your wardrobe upon the shit coating my floor?” 

liam piped up, adding a loud, “hey, he steals just as much my stuff as he does yours, tommo.”

“i’m going out for a smoke, if it’s alright with you all?” zayn said suddenly, rising to his feet. louis jumped up.

“i’ll come with,” he said cheerily, walking zayn to their small terrace. louis closed the door behind them, watching curiously as zayn lit up. “nasty habit, babe,” he said, walking up and leaning against the railing next to zayn. he glanced sideways at louis.

“of course it is, don’t ever pick it up,” he said around the cigarette in his mouth. zayn shrugged, ignoring the piece of hair that had fallen into his eyes. he squinted at the street below them. “my friend’s helped a lot though. gotten me to drop down to only a few a day,” he said with another shrug. “best fucking guy a mate could ever have.”

“i think you mean the best fucking mate a guy could have,” louis said automatically. after a moment, he said, “actually, no, they both work.” zayn just watched him, amused as louis repeated the two sentences, deep in thought. “anyways, yeah. sure. sounds like a great dude. you should have him over, we could all go out for drinks sometime.”

zayn squinted a bit, puffing deep on his cigarette. “harry’s not real the most social,” zayn said calmly. louis jumped. for a moment he let himself wonder if zayn could possibly be talking about harry from the library. but louis couldn’t see harry from the library being friends with a guy like zayn. anyways, louis would never get that lucky. that was just silly, really. he sighed. “right.”

zayn sucked one last gulp on his cig, rubbing it onto the side of one niall’s potted plants. louis gasped dramatically, but zayn just held a finger to his lips wordlessly, expertly flicking the bud across the terrace and onto the neighbor’s. louis laughed.

“not a care in the world,” louis said, still smiling. louis thought maybe he was going to like this guy. “except for when it has to do with li, perhaps?”

zayn scoffed. “basically. the guy’s right lovely, louis. fucking ace.”

louis chuckled. “how very romantic of you, zayn malik.”

 

louis was a bit more disappointed than he’d like to admit when he realized harry wasn’t waiting at louis’ regular stack. it had been almost two weeks since he’d seen the boy. louis didn’t stay long that day, instead checking out a random book he’d pulled off the shelf, saying a quick goodbye to Maura and kissing her cheek on the way out. “don’t forget to bring back catcher and the rye, lou,” she had called after him, shaking one wrinkled fist.

louis took his time wandering around campus rather than going to his 3 o’clock lecture, the last of the day. he stopped at a small cafe for a cuppa to go, and sent a quick text to liam and niall, begging them to pull themselves away from fifa for all of one fucking hour so that they could all grab a bite to eat.

the boys only told him to hush up and stopping being a puss, if you’re hungry you can get yourself food, or god forbid eat the food in the fridge, dumbnut. there was no food in the fridge, there hadn’t been in weeks, louis noted. he walked gloomily to a small mexican place near their flat, where louis was a regular.

“the usual?” nick asked, spinning the sombrero on his head stupidly. he smacked louis’ butt as he walked past him to usher the people behind louis to a table. louis made his way to the bar, ordering a mojito.

“quite in the spirit, yeah?” nick smirked, sliding onto a stool beside louis. louis grabbed the hat off of nick’s head, laughing in spite of himself.

“you look like a right idiot, grimmers,” louis informed his friend.

nick laughed. “as per usual.” louis realized after a moment that nick was staring at someone behind louis. “10 out 0f 10, good sir,” nick whispered under his breath. louis sighed half-heartedly at his painfully single friend, turning around.

“zayn!” louis called immediately. zayn swiveled a bit before placing the voice. “lou,” he said, sliding onto a stool on the other side of louis. “how goes it?” he said, giving louis a half-hug.

louis smiled at liam’s… boyfriend? “just swell, drinking alone while waiting for my take out is all,” he said. he introduced zayn and nick after nick cleared his throat and kicked louis none-too-gently underneath the bar.

zayn smiled when his phone lit up in his hand. “hey, i hate to cut this short, but my friend’s arrived,” he said, motioning at the guy in the doorway of the restaurant. “i should go.”

“harry?” louis asked. harry was looking wildly between zayn and louis.

“i- hi?” harry said, clearing his throat.

zayn raised his eyebrows, more than a bit surprised. “you two know each other?”

after a moment, louis knew harry wasn’t going to answer. “a bit, sure. your friend’s got a wicko tasted in literature, i’m telling you,” louis said mildly. harry looked up at that, smiling a bit at louis.

to louis’ left, nick cleared his throat again. “i’m nick,” he said loudly, raising one hand. harry glanced up at nick before quickly averting his eyes, nodding. “i- hi,” he said again.

louis sighed internally. “nick, don’t you have a job to be attending to?” he whispered. nick smirked at louis, immediately picking up on louis’ attitude. “right,” he whispered back, winking. louis rolled his eyes before turning back to harry. “did you finish it? not that, like, i need my book back or anything! i just mean, did you enjoy it?” louis asked harry.

harry walked a step closer before crossing his ankles. again, the boy was wearing sinfully tight black jeans, this time paired with a loose white tank top and an american flag style bandana tied around his forehead like a headband. louis nearly cried at the cuteness. “i, uhm, actually.” harry spun in his tracks a bit, chasing his own bum before grabbing the book from his back pocket. louis tried not to laugh at harry, seeing his red cheeks. zayn, however, seemed to have no problem with laughing rowdily. 

“i’ve b-been carrying it around. r-read it twice now, almost b-better than the first one you, uhm, showed me,” he said, holding the book out to louis.

zayn coughed a bit, staring at the two of them. “haz, come sit down,” he said quietly, sounding a bit perplexed by the situation. “why didn’t you tell me about him?” he whispered loud enough for louis to hear as harry sank down onto the stool beside him. harry shrugged.

louis flipped through the pages of his book absently. “i dunno, i’m pretty sure the first one’s a bit untouchable,” he said.

harry didn’t respond.

“but, like, i see what you mean!” louis added, smiling. “i like the input, finally i have an educated friend!” he exclaimed, taking another big gulp of his drink.

“hey!” zayn grumbled. louis ignored him shamelessly, still staring at harry.

harry looked up at him. he wasn’t smiling with his mouth, really, but louis was sure in that moment that harry was smiling with his big green eyes. they really were quite pretty. so was his mouth, though. louis shook his head just as zayn did. zayn laughed a bit. “now i feel like the third wheel,” he joked, nudging harry playfully. harry’s cheeks were flaming red again.

louis tried his best not to smile. “lou, your order’s done,” nick called, sliding a bag across the end of bar.

“could have delivered it to me by hand, dick,” he called after his friend, a bit too loudly for a public place. nick only laughed, giving louis the finger as he ushered a couple to a table.

“i should get going then, let you guys sit down and all,” louis said, slapping some bills on the counter. zayn hugged him tight, a bit uncharacteristic of the boy. louis turned to harry, impulsively holding out his hand. harry stared down at louis’ finger curiously, and louis tried not to die from embarrassment. a handshake, really?, louis scolded himself. louis was never awkward, why did he have to start being awkward in this very minute? however, harry stuck his hand out eventually, shaking louis’ gently. harry’s hand was warm, and wow, how was his skin that soft?

louis smiled at both of the boys. “i’ll see you around. and yes, zayn, i’ll bid liam bonjour for you. i’ll even add a kiss if you’d like,” he said cheekily, turning around.

“you’d better not, tomlinson,” zayn called after him. louis smiled as he left the place.

 

“you’re back,” louis said softly, trying not to scare the younger boy.

“y-yeah. hey. i just thought i’d get s-some studying in, you know?” harry ran a hand through his curls messily, watching as louis melted into the chair across from him. “how- how are you?” harry asked hesitantly, putting down his book.

louis grinned, pulling out his own works and slamming them down on the table. “just ducky,” he said. a boy a few tables over was glaring at louis quite unnecessarily, so louis stuck his tongue out at him until he looked away. “think i actually didn’t fail my exam today. might as well have, but i’m going to go with a solid average grade.”

harry smiled faintly, drawing small circles on his book with the tip of his finger. “e-exams are bitch.”

louis laughed. “basically. how’ve you been?” louis rifled through his bag a bit, just something to do. he pulled a zip-up plastic bag of almonds and a packet of licorice from his bag, laughing. 

harry stared at the snacks in louis’ hands, rather than looking up. “i’ve been w-well, yeah. s-sorry i didn’t c-come over with zayn the other day, i was, uh, n-not in the best of moods.”

it took a moment for louis to respond. he wasn’t going to bring the incident up. louis had told zayn to invite harry along multiple times now, but not once had the shy boy taken louis and his friends up on the offer. louis shrugged, and rathering than answering directly, he said, “and this is what your pal zayn’s boyfriend does, in case you were wondering. he packs me snacks on the daily, so i don’t forget to eat and starve or something. zaynie really knows how to pick em, that’s for sure.”

harry chuckled, and for a moment louis thought he was harry’s shoulders relaxing a bit as the boy breathed out. “stunning c-couple, they are.”

louis snorted. it was silent for a moment, but comfortable silence, as the two broke out the books and found their respective pages. after a moment, louis decided to speak. “harry? can i ask you something?”

harry looked up at louis from beneath his eyelashes. “sure.”

“are you insecure about your stutter?”

harry looked aghast at this. “i- i don’t.- i mean… sure. y-yes. w-why?”

louis pushed his glasses up on his nose, shrugging a bit. “i don’t mean to be rude, harry, honestly. i find you quite charming, actually. i just… i’m studying to be a behavioral and speech therapist, did zayn tell you that?”

gawking, harry’s face turned red. “i-is that what this is? s-some fucking… psychology experiment? f-fuck that, louis!” harry was angry now, and suddenly he stood up, shoving his books in his bag messily pushing his chair away from him.

“harry!” louis cried, jumping up. following suit, louis threw his things into his bag haphazardly, muttering self-deprecations under his breath. “shit, shit! harry!” louis called. he ignored the shushing and the knock-it-offs and the glares as he stumbled through the library, even ignoring Maura as he followed Harry out the front doors. “harry!” louis said, almost loud enough to be shouting now.

harry had long legs, and yes, he did often walk like a baby bambi, but no, he did not walk like a baby bambi when he was upset. the kid was moving fast. “harry!” louis shouted. “dammit.” louis hade to pump his legs to get across the courtyard and catch up to harry. finally he did, grabbing his elbow and spinning the taller boy around a bit breathlessly.

“honestly, louis! just f-fuck off, dammit!”

louis dropped his book bag to the ground and grabbed at both harry’s forearms. “god, harry. no, i swear on my life, it’s not like that.”

“so it’s just a f-fucking coincidence then i-innit?” harry growled, stumbling a bit.

louis was sure that if he glanced around, he would see more than a few onlookers, but he really didn’t give a single shit. “yes, no, i don’t know,” he said. “what i know is i ran into a really cute boy at the library weeks ago, and he was really fucking shy but so fucking cute, and he was reading my book. my book, harry! and i knew i had to know him. and then i was realizing that maybe i could get to know him, mutual friends and all that,” louis sucked in a deep breath, temporarily stopping his rambling. “and it never even clicked in my mind until today and it was fucking stupid of me to ask about your stupid fucking stutter cos who really gives a shit when you’re nice, you’re charming, you’re intelligent and shit you’re fucking gorgeous. who really gives a shit, right?” louis backed up then, letting go of harry and grabbing at his bag anxiously. harry’s eyes were wide, and maybe the boy was swaying a bit, louis wasn’t really sure seeing as how he was swaying too. “harry,” louis said. “i just want to get to know you.”

“why?” harry finally whispered.

feeling a bit like he was in a self-induced soap-opera, louis sighed and said, “because of all the things i just said. i’d really like to get to know you because i already like you and that’s not rare for me, but like. just. i really like you, you know? you’re genuine and kind and it’s bloody fantastic,” louis said.

harry closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. “it-it’s gotten much b-better, believe it or not. a-at one point, i could barely even s-speak to anyone at all. i think- i hope…. maybe it-it’ll get even better, y-you know? cos it really fucking sucks f-feeling like an idiot when i-i’m talking to people.”

louis placed one hand back on harry’s arm gently. “harry,” louis said, and harry opened his eyes to stare straight back at him. “i think it’s perfect, you’re perfect..”

harry blinked slowly.

“just come back to mine, okay? please? zayn’s already there, it’s just him and liam and niall, not too many people. i promise you, it gets too much and we’re out, yeah? i’ll take you out for chips and shakes, right?”

harry shook his head minutely. “i- louis.”

louis jumped a tiny bit, biting his lip. “if it’s too much…?”

“a-alright, for a bit, yeah.”

 

“put your pants on boys, we have a guest!” louis yelled, dropping his keys in the key bowl. niall came out of the kitchen carry a bag of chips in one hand and a nutella sandwich in the other.

“wait, is this guy harry? shit, nice ta meet you mate,” niall exclaimed, putting his food on the coffee table and rushing to the door. he wiped his hands messily on his bare chest and pants before hold out a hand. “‘m niall.”

hesitantly, red-cheeked, harry held out his hand and shook niall’s niall’s grin was wide. “he is cute, lou,” niall drawled, winking in louis’ direction. louis blinked.

just then, zayn and liam emerged from liam’s bedroom, holding hands. louis rolled his eyes as he watched the two kiss quickly. fucking sappy shit. when zayn realized harry was there, however, his eyes went wide and he dropped liam’s hand. he rushed to harry’s side, clearly confused. “yalright?” he asked quietly.

harry only nodded in response and turned back to louis. “c-can i just… take a s-seat on the sofa, then?” he asked, voice tiny.

louis nodded quickly, grabbing harry’s wrist and tugging him onto the couch. almost as if it worked as a security blanket, harry snatched up on of louis’ mother’s latest knitting creations, wrapping it around his body tightly.

zayn hovered awkwardly for a moment before following liam to the loveseat and scooching on in next to his boyfriend. every half-second or so, zayn would send harry a worried glance. niall only harrumphed and padded back into the kitchen because he hadn’t had a beer in almost 24 hours lou, stop haranguing. louis turned on the tv, snuggling just the tiniest bit closer to harry.

during a quick run through of grease, followed by finding nemo, liam and zayn had made up some shit excuse to go the bedroom, a girl had arrived and had plastered herself to niall’s face, and harry had fallen asleep with his head resting on the back of the sofa, only inches from louis.

suddenly, there came a knock on the door, and after a moment louis realized niall was too busy sucking face to be bothered with answering the damn thing. louis stumbled to the door sleepily, and threw the door open. to his surprise, five or six of his friends were at the door. without fully understanding what was going on, louis was being pushed aside as people filed up. before he could shut the door in bewilderment and ask just what the fuck was going on, more people had arrived, leaving louis helpless and baffled.

“we’ve brought the party, ladies!”

“niall, i thought you liked blokes, come make out with me!”

“what’s this guy doing, then?”

louis realized the latter drunk voice was coming from josh. he spun around in time to see tom and josh prod at harry. louis practically ran to his side just as harry’s eyes were opening. harry blinked once, twice, sleepily before his eyes grew wide. obviously, the boy was about to panic. the laughs from the crowd didn’t really help much either. and then suddenly louis was really fucking angry and was hopping over the couch and grabbing harry’s hand and tugging him gently through the crowd, away from the loud music. since when was there music?

harry was shaking visibly. louis squeezed his hand and tugged him into his room, shutting the door slowly behind them. he didn’t turn on the light, there was enough coming from the street and the sky. “harry,” louis whispered, trying to break the boy out of his sudden trance. “harry, babe, i’m so sorry. i didn’t know people’d be over. it’s ok now, though. hey, shh, it’s ok.” somehow, harry had ended up leaning into louis until louis was fully enveloping harry in his arms.

harry continued to shake a bit, and he and louis stumbled to louis’ bed. harry curled into a ball, eyes shut tight, breath labored. louis tugged a sheet and a comforter on top of him, before crawling onto the bed next to him. hesitantly, harry’s hand found louis’ underneath the blankets. because harry was facing louis, louis could tell the other boy’s eyes were still shut.

“harry.”

harry didn’t open his eyes, but instead curled closer toward louis. “i-i’m s-so tired. who w-were all those p-people?” his voice groggy and shaky.

louis sniffled a little, gulping. “some friends, niall must’ve invited them. god harry, i’m so sorry.” louis really just wanted to cry. it was getting past 21:30, why would niall do such a thing? he had put harry in danger. how could he have done that?

“n-no, i- i’m r-really just sleepy, lou.”

louis made the strangest sound he’d ever made in that moment, a hum of pure empathy and affection. louis squeezed harry’s hand, rubbing his thumb along the other boy’s warm, bony knuckles. “go to sleep, love,” he said, voice raw and intimate and honest.

and so harry went to sleep.

 

*

 

when harry woke up the next morning, he was alone in a bed that most definitely was not his. a glance at the pictures taped to the white walls told him that he, harry styles, was alone in louis tomlinson’s bedroom. with this realization, he sprung out of bed, tugging his half-fallen-off socks back on. he straightened out his shirt, fixing where one of the buttons had come undone. he even puffed his hair a bit in the mirror leaning up against a closet door.

harry styles did not usually care about his appearance. in fact, he made a substantial effort to dress as normally as possible, not too scrubby and not too nice. simple band tee-shirts a jeans didn’t tend to draw too much attention. harry liked that, being able to fly under the radar. he sighed deeply for a moment, collecting his bearing as he rested his forehead on the door. breath in, breath out.

hesitantly, harry opened the door, following the smell of bacon on tiptoes. he found himself in an empty little kitchen. there on the counter sat a small plate piled with burnt bacon and mushy strawberries. next to the plate was the small note, ‘haz- it was the best i could do, afraid i’m not the best of chefs. i’ll be out of the shower any mo now, xx louis.’ harry gulped, slipping the note into his pocket.

harry nibbled on a piece of bacon, fighting the urge to spit it right back out. he pushed the bacon around on the plate with one finger, trying to make it look like he had eaten. he ate the majority of the strawberries, because they actually weren’t all that bed. he sat on one of the bar stools, nervously picking at one of his nails.

“haz! you’re up,” louis exclaimed, padding into the room with a towel wrapped around his waste and water dripping from his hair. “how’d you sleep? i’m really sorry about last night,” he said in a rush, walking over to a cabinet and rolling a few paracetamol into his palm. louis took the pills dry and harry had to look away because it was not socially acceptable to gawk like a love-drunk teenage girl when you were a geeky uni student who also happened to be a boy.

“w-well, thanks. i a-actually don’t, uhm, remember m-much?” harry said quietly. “the food w-was delicious, by the way. th-thanks for making it for me, lou,” he added, tracing designs on the countertop nervously.

louis grinned at harry then, and harry nearly melted on the spot. oh god, harry was long gone. he blinked. “anytime, babe,” louis said, voice only the tiniest bit raspy from sleep. louis took the kettle off the stove and poured himself and harry tea. “cream? sugar?”

harry smiled a bit. “uhm, b-black is fine.”

louis laughed, dumping an unorthodox amount of sugar into his own mug. “wicked,” he said, sliding harry’s cuppa across the table. the boys drank in silence for a moment, and there was only a wee bit of awkwardness hanging in the air. harry had an idea that he was probably the cause of it.

“l-louis, i…”

louis’ eyebrows were raised. “you…”

“thanks for letting me, uh, s-spend the night,” harry said softly, brushing some hair out of his face. he was watching louis with such adoration, he was afraid louis could see it blatantly.

louis only smiled, jumping up to sit cross-legged on the countertop. just then, zayn and liam stumbled in, wearing wrinkled white tee-shirts and their respective (maybe) boxers. liam went straight for the paracetamol, while zayn went straight to harry. “you spent the night?” he asked, casually.

“in my bed,” louis said proudly, before harry could respond. harry choked on his tea a bit. louis’ grin widened. “before we even had a proper date or anything,” he added.

“we-we just sl-slept, zayn, honest,” harry interjected, begrudging and flustered.

liam laughed, tossing a few pills to his boyfriend. “take it with some of harry’s tea, then,” he said, rustling through the drawers for something. louis watched liam curiously, and harry watched louis watching liam. harry could stare at louis for days. suddenly, louis jerked up, nearly falling off the counter and hitting the ground running. “shit,” he screeched as he ran. “classes!” louis’ call was cut off by the sound of the door slamming, and harry couldn’t help but giggle a little.  
“classes!” he mimicked quietly. both liam and zayn laughed, and zayn even threw him a wink.

“keep it in your pant for now, haz. you’re drooling, practically,” zayn laughed.

harry pretended he didn’t hear him, but his cheeks still warmed just the same.

 

after a week of harassment, harry finally agreed to go out with the boys. he had made louis promise it’d just be dancing, no talking. he stumbled around the club, feeling like a penguin as he tripped on his own feet. he finally found the boys huddled at the end of one of the bars, purple lights flashing over them. harry went straight to louis’ side, grabbing his hand and squeezing it gently.

louis turned around immediately, throwing his arms around harry’s neck. “harry,” he panted against harry. harry chuckled, patting louis on the back affectionately. “louis,” he stated in response.

louis rolled his eyes, thrusting a drink at harry. “here, drink this, i’m sure you’ll be more fun once you’re drunk.”

for the next hour or so, harry nursed his two beers while he watched his friends dance. harry never really did learn how to dance, if one even did learn how to dance these days. he couldn’t peel his eyes away from louis for more than twenty seconds at a time, instead watching louis hungrily as the older boy ground his hips against boys and girls alike. without fully realizing it, harry was slamming his bottle down on the table and getting up. the guy behind the counter, michael maybe?, laughed loudly. 

“you finally gonna go get him, then?” the bartender asked, smiling.

harry blinked before nodding shakily. the bartender slid a straight vodka across the table. “for good luck and strong guts,” he said as an explanation.

“cheers,” harry grunted, throwing back the drink with a wince. he made a beeline for louis, picking him out of the crowd easily. he pushed messily through drunk couples sucking face and sweaty lads pumping their fists. when he reached louis he growled in spite of himself, tugging at louis’ hips from behind. he felt louis squeal drunkenly against him before spinning the older boy around.

“harry!” louis laughed breathily, eyes glimmering. “dance with me, harry,” he whispered, grabbing out to snatch at harry’s own hips. “you’re so hot,” louis breathed in his ear, pulling harry close and nipping on harry’s ear. “so beautiful. harry harry harry,” he sang, spinning around.

harry reached out, grinding up against the older boy. suddenly louis’ arms were around harry’s neck and harry’s around louis’s small waste. “louis,” harry moaned softly. “you’re pissed.”

louis tightened his arms around harry’s neck, swiveling his hips to the beat of the drums blasting throughout the club. “you didn’t stutter, you realize? you barely have all night. oh harry, you are not nearly drunk enough.”

harry gasped when louis’ mouth connect with harry’s neck, sucking kisses into the skin. “definitely drunk enough,” harry breathed, clutching at louis for dear life.

louis’ mouth disconnected from harry’s neck with a messy pop, and harry nearly passed out right there on the spot, watching dizzily as louis licked his lips. “harry, do you fancy me even a little bit?” he said, suddenly still.

harry blinked once, twice. “fancy you?” he repeated.

louis nodded, grabbing at both of harry’s hands. “even a little,” louis clarified, slurring his words.

“l-like hell, lou,” harry breathed, chest constricting.

“harry,” louis whined, and then louis’ lips were on harry’s and they were kissing like neither had ever kissed anyone so special before. “harry,” louis mumbled against harry’s lips. “so good, harry,” he purred.

harry was swaying a lot now. it could have been a number of things, the alcohol, the music, the boy whose lips were on his. “lou, let’s go,” he breathed, tugging louis towards the exit. together, the two stumbled hand in hand to the closest exit, laughing breathlessly and planting kisses on each other’s skin in between steps.

they nearly fell into a cab, and harry straddled louis daringly in the back seat, resting his head on louis’ shoulder every time they hit a bump. when they got back to louis’, harry was tugged up the stairs by louis, and the two stumbled about the flat in the dark as they made their way, giggling, to louis’ bedroom.

louis pushed harry onto the bed, crawling on top of him and ripping his shirt off manically, drunkenly. “louis,” harry moaned, tilting his mouth away from louis’ momentarily. “this has g-gotta mean something in the m-morning, right? i c-can’t.. i can’t just be a-a…” harry trailed off hopelessly, closing his eyes to focus on the sounds of the rush of blood through his ears and the breath coming through louis’ nose.

“harry,” louis whispered, slapping sweaty hair away from his eyes. “this means something, okay? this means everything, alright?” and louis’ voice was so earnest, and only the slightest bit drunken, and in that moment harry felt something in his heart he hadn’t felt in a long while.

and then harry was blinking hard and flipping louis over, straddling the older boy once again and ripping off his clothing indelicately. he shoved louis backwards onto the pillows, kissing a trail down the length of louis’ belly before closing his mouth around louis sloppily. louis positively shook. “harry, i-” he broke off, and harry was thankful for that, relaxing his throat and taking in all of louis silently.

“harry,” louis whispered.

 

the second time harry styles woke up in louis tomlinson’s bed, he was no longer alone.

**Author's Note:**

> written by haz


End file.
